I'm sure that's right. The "mass purge" thing doesn't work - it creates oceans of headlines about "civil war in Labour" and people conclude, rightly, that we'r… (View Post)

Yes, I asked my informant about that. The reply was that the Taliban was indeed a coalition of factions (and a couple of areas remain outside effective control) and it remained to be seen whether the… (View Post)

Had an interesting chat with a well-connected person (no, not Hunt) about options for Taliban negotiations. A key issue, as with Iran, is that we're sitting on a lump of cash (£1 billion or so) … (View Post)

Thanks. They do sound very sensible people. (View Post)

Yes, and the wording gives a pleasant jolt since it says he knows how to be a female Chancellor. You're supposed to say "Eh?" but then he promises a gender-balanced Cabinet and better … (View Post)